Countdown to 2025: Day 18: Christmas Cards
18 December 2024
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Christmas Cards, Countdown to 2025, Day 18, The Glassmaker, Tracy Chevalier
Once again I am counting down to the New Year, as with the previous two years I shall be highlighting at least one book per day to fit the prompt on that given day. The main aim for this countdown is to highlight some of my reads during the past year and to shine the spotlight on them once again (although some of the prompts relate to forthcoming reads). Today is day 18 of the countdown to 2025 and a list of prompts can be found here if you wish to join me in counting down to 2025 and casting a spotlight on some of your favourite books (if you join in please leave me a link so I can check out your book choices).
Today’s Prompt : Christmas Cards – a book with a message
13 Days Remaining
Tracy Chevalier is one of my go to authors, she’s such a lovely writer. The Glassmaker is an intriguing historical story of family and the way their lives adapt throughout the centuries.
Tomorrow’s prompt: Christmas Carols – a book with musicians, song or instruments –
Review: The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier
3 October 2024
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Books, historical-fiction, italy, murano, The Glassmaker, Tracy Chevalier, venice
My Five Word TL:DR Review: A Beautiful History of Murano/Venice
If you enjoy reading historical fiction with a slight twist then The Glassmaker might be just what you’re looking for, plus, I love Venice so couldn’t resist this. Tracy Chevalier has a lovely way with words and I’ve enjoyed all of the books I’ve read by her previously. She clearly does her homework and the stories always stand out, full of remarkable imagery that bring the period to life. The Glassmaker is no exception. A very enjoyable story that follows one family from as far back as 1486 right up to the present day.
Now, this story could have easily become cumbersome. This is a long time period to follow but what the author has actually managed to do with this story is keep it simple. How did she manage this, she uses the same family members, we see them at different periods of time when events are taking place that lead to success or downfall, some of them die along the way, a few new members are added through marriage and childbirth, but, for the most part, the key names remain. It’s difficult to really explain how Chevalier has achieved this other than to use her own description. These characters are not immortals and this story doesn’t contain the supernatural. We witness the family, usually as they are at a key moment in time, we then skip forward, a little like skimming a rock across a pond, and pick up from a different point in history. I guess it’s as though this family has a time machine of their very own, or perhaps it’s easier to think of it as the time simply being compressed together allowing our main character to bring us simply to the present day.
Anyway, we follow Orsola Rosso, the eldest daughter in a family of glassmakers on the island of Murano. As we start the Rosso’s story the year is 1486 and Orsola is deep in the throes of family life. A young girl still, she steps inside the workshop of one of the family’s main competitors, here she meets a woman who changes her life in the future.
In the time the story begins it was forbidden for women to become glassmakers, it was also forbidden for glass to be made anywhere else in Venice other than Murano, predominantly due to the fire hazard from the roaring furnaces. There is one family where a woman practices glassmaking – very successfully – and she encourages Orsola who eventually resorts to bead making – at first to make a little extra money to help the family, but then becoming a gifted maker with a keen eye for detail. Orsola’s glass making takes her through times of trouble and family highs. She falls in love, is eventually married and has a daughter of her own and experiences many events that have helped to shape the Venice we know today.
What I really enjoyed about this.
FIrstly, the writing. I do like this author very much. She’s a talented storyteller and although I might not have thought I was interested in glassmaking she certainly pulled me into this story. Of course this is about so much more than the glass. Venice has a fantastic history and many of the events that came to pass are highlighted here, mainly to show the effect this had on families and businesses alike.
The first incident was the plague. This was such an interesting storyline to read. The Rosso family were one of the first to succumb and those infected were taken to a different island, the remaining family members being boarded up into their home and made to quarantine for forty days. We also see changes in power, invasions and of course some famous characters, including Josephine Bonaparte and Casanova.
So we have all these intriguing events that I loved and they’re all compressed into the lifetime of this one family. Of course, the author could have gone down the more traditional route of the family growing, dieing, changing, etc, but there’s a simplicity here that I thought worked really well. You’re not struggling to remember copious names or moving forward from characters that you’ve already become attached to. We stay with Orsola and she’s a character that is easy to like. She works hard and has her ups and downs with her family members, particularly her eldest brother who is very arrogant and becomes the head of the family following the death of their father. We also have a love interest where Orsola’s heart is captured which takes a different route than I anticipated.
The historical details are really captivating but also what I loved was the differences and significance given to the Venetians because of the fact that they live on the water. I really liked the way this was given focus. Particularly in the earlier parts of the story when travel was not so easy. Of course, gondolas still populate the canals of Venice but these are aimed more at tourists these days than necessity.
I don’t want to say too much more about the story. I found myself becoming fully immersed in Orsola’s story, sometimes feeling frustrated on her behalf but also enjoying her highlights. If you enjoy historical fiction then I definitely recommend this.
I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publishers, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
My rating 4 of 5 stars
Friday Face Off : “I thought unicorns were more . . . fluffy.”
29 March 2019
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Books by Proxy, Friday Face off, The Lady and the Unicorn, Tracy Chevalier
Here we are again with the Friday Face Off meme created by Books by Proxy . This is a great opportunity to feature some of your favourite book covers. The rules are fairly simple each week, following a predetermined theme (list below) choose a book, compare a couple of the different covers available for that particular book and choose your favourite. Future week’s themes are listed below – the list has been updated to help out those of you who like to plan ahead – if you have a cover in mind that you’re really wanting to share then feel free to leave a comment about a future suggested theme. I’ve also listed events that take place during the year, that I’m aware of, so you can link up your covers – if you’re aware of any events that you think I should include then give me a shout. This week’s theme:
“I thought unicorns were more . . . fluffy.” – A cover featuring a unicorn
This week was a lot easier than I thought it would be – strange that last week with a theme of ‘King’ which I thought would be so easy I really struggled with, then this week I thought would be difficult, although I had one book in mind – and then it turned out to be really quite easy. The book I’ve chosen this week is The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier. This was a book that I read pre-blog and so there is no review available unfortunately but it is a book I enjoyed by an author that I really like. This wasn’t a fantasy read in spite of the title but involved a work of fiction that looks at the mystery behind a beautiful mediaeval tapestry that hangs in a museum in Paris. I found it a really compelling read and here are the covers:
My favourites:
My favourite this week is:
Which one is your favourite?
Like last week I’ve added a Mr Linky here so that you can leave a link if you wish or please leave me a link in the comments so we can all visit and check out each others covers. Thanks
I’ve updated the list and included themes through to the end of 2019 – I’ve also included events that I’m aware of so that you can perhaps link your themes up where possible (if you know of an event you’d like to share that let me know in the comments). I also have a list prepared for 2020 and so will set up a separate page soon for forthcoming themes. As always, if you wish to submit an idea then leave me a comment.
Next week – A cover featuring a desert landscape
Future themes: (if you’re struggling with any of these themes then use a ‘freebie’ of one of your favourite covers)
2019
5th April – ‘nomad is an island’ – A cover featuring a desert landscape
12th April – ‘Odin, Odin, send the wind to turn the tide – A cover featuring a longboat
19th April – ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times – A cover featuring a school
26th April “The sunrise was the colour of bad blood” – A cover featuring a sunrise/sunset
(May is the month of Wyrd and Wonder – details here, Twitter: @wyrdandwonder)
3rd May – “How sweet to be a cloud, floating in the blue” – A cover that is predominantly blue
10th May – “As full of spirit as the month of May” – A cover featuring a festival/party/celebration
17th May – “The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn. Go back to the Shadow!” – A cover featuring a fantasy beast
24th May – “bibbity, bobbity, boo” – A cover that features ‘magical things’
31st May – “simples” – A favourite fantasy cover
7th June – “One swallow does not make a summer” – A cover that makes you think of Summer
14th June – “Coraline opened the box of chocolates. The dog looked at them longingly.” – A cover featuring something sweet
21st June – Summer Solstice – the longest day of the year – Pagan rituals/standing stones/blazing suns – a cover with your own interpretation
28th June – “And who decided which people wore the striped pyjamas” – A cover that is striped
5th July – “The question of whether or not we are alone in the universe… has been answered” – a cover featuring something/somebody historic
12th July – A wrap around cover
19th July – “You can’t choose between life and death when we’re dealing with what is in between.” – A cover that is grainy or looks like ‘white noise’
26th July – “Ludo ….. down” – A cover that is Upside Down
2nd August – “There are children here somewhere. I can smell them.” A cover featuring children
9th August – “I’m disinclined to acquiesce to your request.” – A cover featuring Pirates
16th August – “The haft of the arrow had been feathered with one of the eagles own plumes” – a cover featuring feathers
23rd August – A cover that is a movie tie in
30th August – “I wandered lonely as a cloud” – a cover that is predominantly yellow
6th September “Warm September brings the fruit” – a cover that is seasonal for Autumn/Fall
13th September – Friday the 13th – unlucky for some! A cover with ‘curse’ in the title
20th September – “Your hair is winter fire,January embers.” – A cover featuring hair
27th September – Freebie
4th October – “Feed me Seymour” – A cover that is 60s horror
11th October – ““And, though there should be a world of difference between the smile of a man and the bared fangs of a wolf, with Joss Merlyn they were one and the same.” – a cover featuring an Inn
18th October – “It’s your favorite scary movie, remember? He had on the white mask, he stalked the babysitters.” – A cover featuring a scream
25th October – for Halloween – pick any scary cover you like
(I’m hoping that November will once again bring to us SciFiMonth – Twitter @SciFiMonth)
1st November – A cover that is predominantly grey
8th November – “big badda boom” – a cover that features an explosion
15th November – “No thinking thing should be another thing’s property, to be turned on and off when it is convenient.” – a cover featuring a robot
22nd November – A cover that is Futuristic
29th November – “When a day that you happen to know is Wednesday starts off by sounding like Sunday, there is something seriously wrong somewhere.” – a cover that is 60s sci fi
6th December – Now is the winter of our discontent, Made glorious summer by this sun of York” – a cover that puts you in mind of winter
13th December – A cover that features a temple/or religious icon
20th December – Longest Night – a dark and foreboding cover
27th December – the festive season – a cover that is glittery or sparkling
(2020 – January is Vintage SciFi month so I’ll be including possible themes to take that on board.)
Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier
31 December 2010
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier
Remarkable Creatures tells the story of two women from the 19th Century. Mary Anning, a poor and uneducated woman who was responsible for finding some truly remarkable creatures on the beach at Lyme Regis and Elizabeth Philpot whose own love of fossil hunting would bring the two together and make them hard and fast friends. The story begins when the Philpots move from London to Lyme Regis – basically as their brother is now marrying there will no longer be a place for them in his household and as their prospects of marriage are poor they are ‘retired’ off to spinsterhood in Lyme Regis. The sisters, now relegated to life with a much smaller social sphere find new things to occupy their time. Margaret, who is the youngest becomes involved in the social activities that Lyme has to offer, Louise becomes passionate about gardening and Elizabeth, after making a chance fossil discovery on a walk on the beach finds she has a new interest in that area.
I really enjoyed this novel, but then I do like historical fiction. In terms of the story there actually isn’t much of a tale being told really – not if you’re expecting a romance or goodies and baddies, a fight between good and evil or any sort of mystery. This is a very simple tale told very well. I like Tracy Chevalier – I have read all her previous novels, except for Burning Bright and I like her writing style. She is able to bring to life the period, the place and the characters so well. In Remarkable Creatures she has done a first class job of demonstrating the injustices to women of the period. Basically in not achieving marital status women became objects of ridicule although to a certain extent the fact that they did not have a husband did allow them more freedom than they would otherwise enjoy and certainly the friendship between Mary and Elizabeth, given their different social standing, would have been highly unlikely as would Elizabeth’s fossil collecting.
I would recommend this novel, it’s a very easy book to read and gives an excellent depiction of the period. I enjoyed reading about Mary Anning and the hard life that she led. I thought the descriptions of the fossils and the beach hunting was fascinating and you could practically feel the cold and experience the danger (as much of the collecting was carried out in winter after storms when fossils had been exposed by the sea – this was a dangerous occupation because of the chances of being cut off by incoming tides and also the possibility of landslides). And, I suppose most of all, I enjoyed reading about the friendship that developed between Mary and Elizabeth – they had their ups and downs with petty jealousies sometimes getting the better of them but they eventually realised that their friendship and companionship was truly and equally important to both of them.
Strangely enough I don’t actually have any criticisms of this book – although I did almost overlook reading it for some reason. I don’t know why, but having bought the book I then put it down and almost got to the position of putting it away (which means I will probably never read it!) Perhaps it’s the description on the jacket which isn’t compelling enough although I don’t really know how it could be improved on (as I pointed out earlier this is a very gentle story)?? That being said I’m very happy that I overcame my reluctance and picked it up – as I was very reluctant from there onwards to put it down until I’d finished reading it.
Rating -A
Remarkable Creatures
Books and travelling with Lynn 